Official Review: The Apostates by Lars Teeney

[RussetDivinity]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Apostates" by Lars Teeney.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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The Apostates by Lars Teeney would be termed a doorstopper if it weren’t an e-book. For those unfamiliar with the way that word is used in the world of books, a doorstopper is a book that could be used to physically prop a door open, and The Apostates certainly fits that bill at over thirteen hundred pages. It is a science fiction epic, and I wish very much that I had enjoyed it more. However, I found it tiresome to read, and the length only made it more exhausting, so I can only rate it 1 out of 4 stars.

The novel opens in the wake of a world-changing event which is never explained in detail but which has drastically altered the United States of America. It is now called New Megiddo, a reference to an Israeli city known in Greek as Armageddon. The democracy we are all familiar with has been replaced by a dictatorship, with the Schrubb family known as presidents but essentially ruling as kings. There is now a state religion which is very similar to today’s televangelism, presided over by a man known as the Reverend, with every citizen’s mind connected to the [Virtue-net] so they can receive his sermons automatically. However, a group of rebels have banded together to change the system. They call themselves the Apostates, and they are determined to restore the country to what it once was.

It’s a fairly interesting premise, and Teeney does get some things right. The technology is interesting, and each character has a unique backstory, some of which proved to be fascinating. A story about revolution and fighting a corrupt system is resonant for this country, given how we began, and Teeney makes some ties between his envisioned future and our present and recent past. The televangelism is rather obvious, but there was another tie that I failed to notice until near the end of the book. (To avoid spoilers, I’ll simply say that you can pick up on it if you say Schrubb’s name a few times and think of a recent president whose name is a synonym for what Schrubb’s sounds like.) It is a book that could easily speak to our times, but its failings keep it from doing so.

For one thing, the ties to our present feel somewhat dated now. Enough has changed that the book no longer aptly speaks to the current system, and it feels as though it has come about ten years too late. This in itself wouldn’t be enough to make me give the book such a low rating, but the characters feel like one-dimensional plot devices and the writing style itself is heavy-handed and lays everything out too obviously for the reader. The subplot taking place in World War II feels for the most part superfluous and only really makes sense in its last chapter and the epilogue. The numerous grammatical errors sprinkled throughout the text don’t help at all.

In short, I don’t know that I would recommend this book to anyone. If it were shorter, I might say that it’s best for people with strongly liberal beliefs, but as it is, thirteen hundred pages is too much to ask anyone to wade through.

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The Apostates
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Like RussetDivinity's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Rachaelamb1]

I don't think I would have the perseverance to read 1300 pages of any book that I didn't absolutely love! Well done for sticking it out and we'll done on your review.

[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. Too bad you did not enjoy it considering how long it is. Great job!

[MotherTheresa]

Sounds like the book needs a little more work or perhaps separated into separate books to make it less tiresome?

[RussetDivinity]

Both, probably. While I'm a fan of long books, I feel almost like this one could have worked as a series rather than a standalone.